I will not pretend that I never have a recipe fail. They happen to everyone. And at first, this recipe fell into the fail category. Why? Because while trying to make a healthy cheesecake to enjoy as dessert… I completely forgot to add sugar! The resulting cheesecake checked most of the boxes for texture and flavor, but missing any sweetness made it hard to want as a dessert alternative. But then I thought, it has a bunch of breakfast staples, its prepared in a big batch I could portion out… why not make this a breakfast food? So I did, enjoyed with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey or jam… this fail became FAB!
PS… its also gluten free!
Ingredients:
For the Cheesecake
- 2 cups cottage cheese (prefer regular style)
- 1 cup full fat/whole milk greek plain yogurt (2% to 5% would work too)
- 1 egg
- lemon zest/ orange oil
- 1 Tbs vanilla
- Optional: 1 scoop protein powder unflavored
For the crust
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts (lightly toasted)
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
How to:
- Preheat oven to 350F. In a blender or food processor, process the hazelnuts until a coarse meal texture. Add this to a bowl with the almond flour and melted butter. Add your cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine. It should start to get chunky and mailable.
- In a 8 inch or 9 inch cake pan (or spring form) lay down a piece of parchment trimmed to fit to the bottom of the pan. Then press the nut mixture into the bottom of the pan, creating a thin layer covering the bottom of the pan.
- Bake in the oven for 7 minutes.
- While the crust is baking. In a blender (food processor could work as well) add your cottage cheese and yogurt. Blend until smooth. Scrap down the sides if needed. Add in the egg, and pulse/ blend for a few seconds to incorporate. If you are adding protein powder, you can also add that at this step. Incorporate your vanilla and lemon zest (or orange oil) into the mixture and pulse lightly to incorporate.
- Once your crust is done, remove and let cool for 5 minutes before adding the cheesecake mixture on top. Using a spatula, smooth the top.
- Add the cheesecake to a pan that can accommodate a water bath that goes up at least halfway up the side of cheesecake. If using a springform pan wrap the bottom in one sheet of tinfoil to prevent water migration.
- Bake for 50min to an hour, until top is set. Chill completely before eating.
- Top with fresh berries and honey. Or a little microwaved jam for just a touch of sweetness!
The Home Taste 